So I'M the Rude One, Ha Ha!
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 10:51 am
Mr. Syndrome and a group of friends were sitting to my left, watching the new version of "Disney Dreams" on the Wonder (phenomenal show, by the way). They were taking photos with their flashes turned off, but Ms. Imspecial on my right (a stranger) whips out her camera and starts flashing away. First, I tried the subtle approach, i.e. saying to my husband, "Honey, I thought your flash was off," (knowing full well that it was), which brought the reply, "It wasn't me. Must be the person on the other side," and my response, loud enough for Missy to hear, "Ah, yes, maybe she just didn't know that flashes are supposed to be OFF."
Didn't make a dent (I forgot that one of the genetic traits of SGs is a thick skull). So at the next flash, I leaned over and said, "Perhaps you are not aware, but flashes are supposed to be off. That is why everyone else in this row is not using their flash. If you don't believe me, I can ask a crew member to come over and detail the policy for you."
I tossed in the last sentence because the usual SG reply is, "Well, I never heard that rule" or something similar, followed by continued bad behavior. She snapped: "Well, I didn't hear anything about it, and you don't have to be so RUDE!" "And how was I rude?" I inquired sweetly. She barked back, "Well, you don't have to tell me that you'll get a crew member over here." (Yeah, because then you could have claimed continued ignorance like a typical SG).
I said, "Why does that bother you so much? I was simply being nice and letting you know that if you didn't believe me, I could get someone to verify it." She got even more pissed and had raised her voice to a point where I felt sorry for the people around us: "I NEVER SAID I didn't believe you!! I said I didn't hear the policy!! You could have just asked me nicely but you are so RUDE!" I responded, "I know you heard me say something the first time and you ignored it, so I had to take the direct approach."
Then she says, "Well, the reason I am doing it is they said not to yesterday, but everybody was doing it anyway." (Uh, didn't she just say that she didn't know it was against the rules? And how is that MY problem?) Mind you, she has two kids sitting next to her...great thing to teach 'em. I can just see it a few years down the road: "Well, I'm pregnant and a drug addict because I know it was wrong to have sex and take meth, but everyone else was doing it." Then she has to toss in another, "And you didn't have to be so RUDE!" (Rude must have been the Word of the Day, or perhaps she was vocabularily challenged.)
I smirked at her and said, "If you think that's rude, you're sadly mistaken. Trust me, if I was rude to you, you would know it." (In my mind I added "...because I would have said, 'Take one more flash photo and I'm shoving that camera sideways up your ass,' but I managed to restrain myself by reminding myself that, as a cognitive therapist, I should choose not to engage idiots that far).
She huffed, "Well, fine. I don't have to deal with rude people because I am on vacation." Internally I thought, "Hmmmmm, you're the one sitting there blinding everyone with your flash, and I'm the rude one?" But I didn't bother to say it because it's pointless to try to teach a pig to sing. Thankfully, when she saw that I wasn't going to acknowledge her any more, she shut up and and figured out how to turn off her flash.
Ironically, after the show, the family we were sailing with said, "Wow, that was the same woman who shoved her way in front of us and blocked our view at the Pirate Party." Hmmmm, how rude of them for being in her way and forcing her to push them aside.
Didn't make a dent (I forgot that one of the genetic traits of SGs is a thick skull). So at the next flash, I leaned over and said, "Perhaps you are not aware, but flashes are supposed to be off. That is why everyone else in this row is not using their flash. If you don't believe me, I can ask a crew member to come over and detail the policy for you."
I tossed in the last sentence because the usual SG reply is, "Well, I never heard that rule" or something similar, followed by continued bad behavior. She snapped: "Well, I didn't hear anything about it, and you don't have to be so RUDE!" "And how was I rude?" I inquired sweetly. She barked back, "Well, you don't have to tell me that you'll get a crew member over here." (Yeah, because then you could have claimed continued ignorance like a typical SG).
I said, "Why does that bother you so much? I was simply being nice and letting you know that if you didn't believe me, I could get someone to verify it." She got even more pissed and had raised her voice to a point where I felt sorry for the people around us: "I NEVER SAID I didn't believe you!! I said I didn't hear the policy!! You could have just asked me nicely but you are so RUDE!" I responded, "I know you heard me say something the first time and you ignored it, so I had to take the direct approach."
Then she says, "Well, the reason I am doing it is they said not to yesterday, but everybody was doing it anyway." (Uh, didn't she just say that she didn't know it was against the rules? And how is that MY problem?) Mind you, she has two kids sitting next to her...great thing to teach 'em. I can just see it a few years down the road: "Well, I'm pregnant and a drug addict because I know it was wrong to have sex and take meth, but everyone else was doing it." Then she has to toss in another, "And you didn't have to be so RUDE!" (Rude must have been the Word of the Day, or perhaps she was vocabularily challenged.)
I smirked at her and said, "If you think that's rude, you're sadly mistaken. Trust me, if I was rude to you, you would know it." (In my mind I added "...because I would have said, 'Take one more flash photo and I'm shoving that camera sideways up your ass,' but I managed to restrain myself by reminding myself that, as a cognitive therapist, I should choose not to engage idiots that far).
She huffed, "Well, fine. I don't have to deal with rude people because I am on vacation." Internally I thought, "Hmmmmm, you're the one sitting there blinding everyone with your flash, and I'm the rude one?" But I didn't bother to say it because it's pointless to try to teach a pig to sing. Thankfully, when she saw that I wasn't going to acknowledge her any more, she shut up and and figured out how to turn off her flash.
Ironically, after the show, the family we were sailing with said, "Wow, that was the same woman who shoved her way in front of us and blocked our view at the Pirate Party." Hmmmm, how rude of them for being in her way and forcing her to push them aside.
